Bomb the Music Industry! (abbreviated BtMI!) was a DIY punk/ska/indie band from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. BtMI! could often be found playing in basements and other underground shows, although they had a thriving fan base and had scored plenty of big gigs--not to mention some big name publicity, including airplay on the TV shows The Office and Weeds. Their crazy concoction of quirky punk instrumentation like crazy synths, fake drums and the sincere vocals of frontman, songwriter, producer and guitarist Jeff Rosenstock ma ...read more

Bomb the Music Industry! (abbreviated BtMI!) was a DIY punk/ska/indie band from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. BtMI! could often be found playing in basements and other underground shows, although they had a thriving fan base and had scored plenty of big gigs--not to mention some big name publicity, including airplay on the TV shows The Office and Weeds. Their crazy concoction of quirky punk instrumentation like crazy synths, fake drums and the sincere vocals of frontman, songwriter, producer and guitarist Jeff Rosenstock makes BtMI!'s unique and insanely addictive.

BtMI! released seven albums, numerous EPs and other releases for free on Rosenstock's web label Quote Unquote Records, the self-proclaimed "First Donation-Based Label Ever". Rosenstock has been quoted saying, "making the music doesn't cost us anything so why should we charge people to listen to it?" BtMI! released their early albums independently and have been known to approach the recording of their music with a strong DIY ethic, needing only an iMac and a kitchen, bathroom or basement as their "studio". As for merchandise, the band provided spray paint and stencils at shows as long as fans brought blank shirts.

Initally formed as a "collective", Rosenstock has been backed over the years by Rick Johnson, Matt Kurz, Laura Stevenson, Sean McCabe, Sean Qualls, James Lynch, Neil Callaghan, Dave Solomon, Jason Rutcofsky, Jenna Beatty, Steve Foote, Christine Mackie, Jeff Tobias, and Craig Howe, just to name a few. Eventually, the band arrived at a much more stable lineup consisting of Rosenstock, John DeDomenici, Matt Keegan, Mike Costa and Tom Malinowski. BtMI! announced that they were disbanding in 2012, spending that year on tour before taking a break in 2013, and proceeding to play their final shows in early 2014. « hide